Hey, everybody...Bite ME!

[Dale King]

Just kidding! I do have some interesting news, however. Registration of the new .ME top-level domain names will be open to the public starting Thursday, July 17 at 12 pm EST.

Here's a little background information: The .ME country code was assigned to Montenegro after it gained its independence in 2006.

Companies which own trademarks were given preferential treatment and were allowed to register .ME names. ahead of everyone else. For example, Google has already registered Google.me.

So who are the .ME names being targeted at? Here's what it says on the www.Domain.Me website:

"Because .ME is about YOU! .ME has incredible potential for Internet users world-wide. Think about it, with a .ME domain, the Internet will, quite simply, be all about YOU. For the first time in Internet history, domain names are essentially personal.

.ME is expected to be utilized as both a personalized Web address and as a catchy business marketing tool around the world, initially in English followed by localized and standards compliant International Domain Names in, for example, Spanish, Italian, and Montenegrin.

.ME domains, with their universal appeal, are expected to be in high demand. So some “premium” names – including verb-oriented domains, such as “Contact.ME,” “Drive.ME” or “Fly.ME,” – will be held back for auction after Open Registration. We will have more information available on premium auctions in the months to come." (Source: Domain.Me)

The cost of buying a .ME domain name isn't exactly cheap, starting at $19.99 a year, with a minimum two-year period. Is it worth it? Well, that's up to each individual to decide for his or herself. However, in my opinion if you simply want to put your own name in a domain, why not grab one of the cheaper and better known extensions such as .COM or .NAME?

That being said, if you have a quirky sense of humor and a little imagination, I can see where you could have a lot of fun with a .ME domain name. In essence, you're limited only by your imagination - especially if you work in the *** industry. (FYI: Premium names such as kiss.me, marry.me and buy.me cannot be purchased for 19.99 and are instead being auctioned-off.)

However, if you're interested in purchasing a .ME domain name, you should still be able to come up with some great ideas by playing around with the domain suggestion tool, NameTumbler.com. For example, while doing research for this article I found these interesting .ME domain names still available:

Bill.me, Call.me, Quote.me, Play.me, List.me, Teach.me, Drive.me, Copy.me, Click.me, plus many, many more. By the time you read this article, those names may already have been snagged by someone.

For more information visit http://Domain.ME

Dale King